Eixample Apartment by Bach arquitectes in Barcelona, Spain | Yellowtrace.

Eixample Apartment by Bach arquitectes in Barcelona, Spain | Yellowtrace.

 

I’m having one of those “I wish I was a Spainish architect” moments again. The current cause of envy is Bach arquitectes, a Barcelona based studio who were handed this original 1910’s apartment and asked to convert it into a current day, family home.

With so many winning features lacing the original bones of the apartment, the trickiest part was adapting the space to their client’s needs whilst preserving the beauty of the original structure. The architects likened the process to solving a “jigsaw puzzle.” They altered floor levels and recessed joinery below cornice level in order to keep skirtings, cornices and flooring intact. If you trace your eyes along the cornices, you can spot where walls have been lost.

 

Eixample Apartment by Bach arquitectes in Barcelona, Spain | Yellowtrace.

 

Now I’m having trouble steering the conversation away from anything other than the flooring. Squeal almighty! With a different tessellated pattern adorning the floor of each room, each space is infused with its own distinct personality. Yet the consistency in scale and repetition ensures that it weaves together into a clear, single narrative. The slightly worn condition of the graphic flooring makes it only more appealing. Yes, the patterned tile options in today’s market are growing at an exponential rate, but nothing quite compares to an original floor like this, with all its historial richness.

 

Eixample Apartment by Bach arquitectes in Barcelona, Spain | Yellowtrace.

Eixample Apartment by Bach arquitectes in Barcelona, Spain | Yellowtrace.

 

Whilst I’m super impressed with the architects’ ability retain the glory of the existing house with the client’s brief, the curious little lady inside me wonders if they were ever tempted to reveal the fluted concrete slab above the ceiling. We catch a tiny glimpse of it in the sun room and my greedy eyes want to see more. But perhaps ripping those original ceilings out would classify as a case of architectural blasphemy. In which case, just pretend I didn’t say that.

Ella.

 


[Photography by Tiia Ettala. Images courtesy of Bach arquitectes.]



About The Author

Contributor

Ella is a design obsessed architect from Melbourne and author of the blog 'pages from my moleskine'. She specializes in residential architecture and currently works in a senior design role with an equal focus on architecture and interiors. Things that really float Ella’s boat include; designs that frame an experience, innovative material explorations, textures and light, clarity and simplicity. She is addicted to learning through making and doing. Her free time is spent sewing, knitting, knotting, folding, moulding, shaping, dyeing... Contemporary dance is another great life passion of hers. In fact, Ella is convinced that dance and architecture are two dialects of the same language.

4 Responses

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.